Question: I have noticed that my skin is ageing faster than my friends of the same age. What can I do to maintain youthful skin? I love reading your beauty column and you give good advice. I am sure you are going to help me. Mercy – Lilongwe
Answer: We all wish we could keep the perfect complexions we were born with, but we have to face the fact that wrinkles are a reality! By understanding how and why your skin shows signs of ageing, you can definitely find ways of maintaining a youthful glow.
When you are a kid, your skin completely renews itself every three weeks, but as you grow older, this process slows down, until it eventually takes up to five weeks to renew itself. This means that cell damage accumulates and naturally, signs of aging become more obvious.
Your skin starts to sag and often looks very dry. Menopause is a huge factor in ageing skin, as your body’s elastin and collagen production decreases drastically, leading to slackened, and wrinkled skin.
Regardless of your skin tone, the major cause of wrinkles is sun exposure as we have talked over and over, which means that the first step in stopping the clock is sun protection.
The sun penetrates deep into the dermis, resulting in premature lines and wrinkles but these can easily be prevented with a good sun block by SPF of 50 and above.
Repetitive movements such as chewing gum, frowning or rubbing your eyes will also lead to wrinkles, as they cause micro-tears in the skin, resulting in damage to your collagen. You obviously can’t stop expression lines, such as laugh lines, so at least break bad wrinkle-causing habits and wear sunglasses to prevent squinting in bright light.
What then can you do to maintain a youthful skin? Eat lots of fish, fruits and vegetables. Vitamin deficiency is the foremost reason that your body deteriorates. You need antioxidants like vitamin A, E, C and selenium, as well as zinc and copper in order to stay young and beautiful. Also try to give up sweets, meat and any fatty and rich foods.
Drink more liquids like fresh fruits and water and avoid drinking too much tea, coffee, or alcohol.
It has been proven that constant stress enhances the ageing process. Make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep and try not to work more than eight hours a day. Why not try out yoga, meditation, massage or aromatherapy for added relaxation?
Use good quality products for your face. You may think you are saving money with cheap products, but the long-term effects can be disastrous. Not only will they dry your skin, they can also leave toxins in it.
Stop smoking! Not only will you look, feel and smell better, you will also reduce your risk of cancer, arthritis and make your ageing a whole lot smoother!
